


Room With A View

by baltshake



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Fluff, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Wishful Thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-08-08 16:30:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7764949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baltshake/pseuds/baltshake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The public often speculated about the glamorous lives SOLDIER members had while at Shinra. In reality, it really comes down to matter of living space.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Room With A View

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Day 7 of Clack Week! The prompt was "Favorite Headcanon" and while I don't really have a favorite, I always liked the "higher up SOLDIERs get nice apartments". Then I just had to throw in some fluff for the fun of it. ^U^ Please feel free to leave comments and critiques!!

The nice thing about being a member of SOLDIER was the fact that the 2nd and 1st Classes got their own apartments with the 2nd Class members having a studio and the 1sts getting a large one bedroom place. It was very rare that a SOLDIER who’d just attained the top ranking would stay in their smaller apartment and would usually move up to the large space.

3rd Classes lived in more of a dormitory setting with two or sometimes three to a space that included one bedroom and a multipurpose area that could be used as a kitchenette and living room. That space would have a shared bathroom and shower between another two or three person group.

Infantry probably had it worse off though. As they weren’t actually members of SOLDIER, they usually were in a room of six with three bunk beds to conserve space. There were several communal bathrooms and showers per floor and they ate in the mess hall. It was a strange person indeed who wanted to stay as part of the infantry and not reapply to the SOLDIER program.

Cloud, as it so happened, was one of those oddballs. Well, sort of. With Nibelheim being as cold as it was, it wasn’t unusual for families to share a room or even one big bed. Cloud, his mother, and his father when he’d been there had shared a large bed up until he had left for Midgar. Because of this, sharing a room with multiple people actually felt fairly normal to Cloud and he found some comfort in hearing steady breathing around him while he tried to sleep.

What he didn’t like was the lack of space. Everything had to be shared from where they put their clothes to however many people could cram themselves into the shower first. It was different than just him and his mom figuring out who got to use the bath first and they each had their own wardrobe!

That was why he liked staying in Zack’s apartment the best. There was space for everything, a bathtub along with a shower, and a kitchen! Best of all was Zack’s big bed. Cloud loved sleeping in it and wrapped up in Zack’s arms as he got the closeness he longed for without having to deal with the junk of five other people.

Of course, Cloud couldn’t stay there all the time. Infantry did have a curfew that needed to be followed unless they were on duty. Fortunately, he and Zack managed to get around that fairly frequently whenever the 1st wasn’t on missions. He didn’t even care that his roommates bombarded him with questions about where he was all the time and saying he must have some girlfriend in Midgar whose house he slept over at. It was his business and they didn’t need to know!  
_ _ _

“You still with me, Spike?”

Cloud jolted from where he’d been zoning off at the kitchen table. It was Zack’s turn to cook that night and he’d promised a meal from Gongaga that Cloud had never had before. It would probably be fairly spicy since all dishes from there seemed to be but Zack usually made his boyfriend’s a bit milder to ease him into it. 

“Um, yeah. Sorry.” Cloud smiled guiltily even as he lowered his chin back to where his arms were folded on the table. “What were you talking about?”

Zack didn’t look offended by Cloud’s inattention. On the contrary, he just grinned like he always did and turned back to the stove to stir whatever was sautéing in the pan. “I asked what you were planning on doing when you got to be 1st Class. Are you gonna get a big apartment like this too?”

Cloud frowned a little at this and contemplated the table. Even if the size of both the 1st and 2nd Class apartments was nice, he didn’t know if he could stand how lonely it would be. 3rd Class would be better if he had one roommate but two would be too many. 

“I’m not sure yet,” he murmured. “Being alone doesn’t sound too great. But the 3rd Class rooms are pretty small too.”

Zack hummed as he tossed the food a few times before adding several other things to the pan and stirred it all. “Why don’t you just move in with me?” he suggested, looking over his shoulder to grin at Cloud. “You seem pretty cozy here and I have way too much room for all my things!”

Raising his torso from the table, Cloud’s face showed his surprise at this as he thought about living with Zack full time. With them both at 1st Class, they would get to go on many of the same missions and then return to the same home every day. “Does that ever happen?” he asked, feeling hope rise in his chest. “1sts living together?”

“Well I dunno how common it is but I can’t see anybody saying no to it,” Zack said easily. “You can get away with a lot as a 1st and I’m sure saving space on room would make Shinra executives pretty happy.” 

Turning the heat down, Zack turned to face Cloud and grinned. “So? That motivate you enough to try for SOLDIER again?”

Lowering himself back to the table, Cloud hid a grin of his own in his arms and shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Guess so.” Living together with Zack! Who wouldn’t be motivated by that?


End file.
